A picture of Beethoven on his Deathbed. Many people paid the composer a last honour, when he was laid out in state - they took a lock of his hair as a souvenir. Afterwards, Beethoven's head was completely bald!!!During this time Ferdinand Hillier snipped a lock of Beethovens hair as a keepsake which was treasured as a Hillier relic in Vienna for more than a century. The lock was then given to Danish doctor Kay Alexander Fremming who kept it throughout the war. When Fremming died, his daughter sent the lock of hair to Sotherby's for auction in 1994. It was then sent to America for Forensic Testing. It was discovered that Beethoven quite possibly died of lead poisoning due to the high lead content that the hair contained although this hasn't officially been proven.
The original lock of hair sold at auction seen here before its refurbishment in 1971.
Only several other locks of hair remain in the world. There are two locks of hairon display in the Beethoven-Haus together with a certificate of authentication from the Viennese art expert Anton Gräffer.
Forensic Testing: An Examination taken from sample's of Beethoven hair revealed he may have died from lead poisoning.